A number of devices emit thermal energy in various quantities and forms. For example, electronic components, internal combustion engines, motors, electromechanical systems, and the like may emit thermal energy that is dissipated to the environment. It may be desirable to manage such emitted thermal energy, such as by controlling the dissipation to the environment and/or guiding the emitted thermal energy to a desired location for potential harvesting of the thermal energy.
Accordingly, a need exists for thermal energy guiding systems including anisotropic thermal guiding coatings and methods for fabricating thermal energy guiding systems including anisotropic thermal guiding coatings.